Dubai Towers – Doha, set to be the tallest tower in Qatar at 435 m when it is completed in 2010, is now rising steadily with work currently under way on the podium level.

“Slab four is now in progress, while in the main core, two lifts of the core walls have been completed and the third is in progress,” Osama Al Taher, project director for Al Habtoor Engineering (HEE) tells Gulf Construction.
The project, being built under a $238 million contract by a joint venture of HEE and Al Jaber Engineering, is being developed by Sama Dubai, the international real estate investment and development arm of Dubai Holding. It is located on the Corniche in the West Bay area of Doha and is set to be one of Qatar’s iconic landmarks and a prominent feature of the capital’s new skyline.
Slated for completion in mid-2010, the mixed-used corporate towers will feature offices, serviced and unfurnished apartments, an upscale retail shopping boulevard and a luxury boutique hotel.
Dubai Towers – Doha will cater to the rising demand for first-rate office space, quality residential units and hotel rooms. Designed by RMJM, an internationally renowned architectural firm, the 84-plus-storey tower is expected to catalyse the city’s emerging status as a centre for business and commercial activity, as well as a rapidly growing international destination.
The towers’ components will be complemented by excellent corporate facilities and services, including recreation and entertainment amenities, a health centre, gym, restaurants, ample basement and above-grade car parking, designated drop-off zones, security services, and 24-hour maintenance system, as well as a well-equipped business centre with high speed, state-of-the-art connectivity.
The latest technology and construction methods and materials are being adopted to guarantee that the highest international standards are met in Dubai Towers – Doha, says a spokesman for the developer.
“Elements such as jump formwork, composite steel columns, precast floor planks on steel beams, post-tensioned slabs, and high-strength concrete, have all been incorporated to guarantee an efficient construction process and an unparalleled, high-quality property. In addition, continuous value engineering exercises will be implemented throughout the course of construction to assure the project’s conformity to quality,” he says.
The project drew up important statistics in Qatar last year when the raft foundation was poured. In one of the largest concrete pours in the state, a total of 15,000 cu m of concrete was poured over a five-day period, into a giant crater that encased the foundations of this iconic building.
“In the preceding two months, 5,000 tonnes of steel was installed in the foundation area. This task kept the site working round the clock. It then took two weeks of preparation before the final pouring operation. The challenge was to cast this raft without a cold joint,” says Taher.
Elaborating on the pouring operation, he continues: “While an operation of this scale usually has concrete pumps pouring in concrete from all sides off the site, the unique location of this site meant that it could only be approached from one of the four sides of the fence. So all the concrete mixers had to come to this one side of the fence and pour over an area of 6,000 sq m, and up to a depth of 3.5 m. A whopping 1,785 individual trips had to be made by concrete trucks to the site to supply all the concrete. This led to a logistical nightmare for those involved, and was really a challenge to control.”
Al Wataniya Concrete, a subsidiary of Al Jaber, was the sole supplier of concrete for this job and carried out the pour. It also arranged for all the cement and the washed sand to be made available. The concrete consultants were GHG, and high-flow, self-compacting Grade 75 concrete was used for the job.
The mixed-use development will enfold a built-up area of 228,000 sq m. The hotel and the furnished apartments will be mainly aimed at the high-end business traveller and will offer all the amenities one might expect of a five star hotel.
The project will comprise:
• 138 unfurnished one to four bedroom luxury apartments as well as four-bedroom penthouse apartments situated on the top floor. In addition, there are 166 furnished apartments including studios ranging from one to four bedrooms;
• A five-star boutique hotel, managed by an international luxury hotel chain, Jumeirah. It will occupy eight floors, offering162 luxuriously elegant rooms and suites, varying in size to cater for a great variety of clientele. It will include a waterfall pool on the terrace of the podium, gym, sauna, conference rooms and a business centre;
• 29 floors of offices, equipped with the highest technological standards. It will dedicate two fully-furnished and serviced “virtual” offices to new companies which require temporary business in Doha to be run by an external operator. Entire floors will be available for lease;
• Retail and restaurants: Dubai Tower-Doha will have 80 retail units and open spaces for the guests of the hotel and the tenants of the apartments and office as well as the public. The hotel will also have its own specialty restaurants from around the globe and cafés as well as outdoor terraces and cafes; and
• Parking facilities, available to all of the tenants in the tower. The size of the apartments or office suite will determine the number of spaces that will be allocated. There is also parking available to the hotel guests and visitors of the shopping boulevard.